Is it possible to change my lifestyle to vegetarian or vegan? What about my kids? Will I get the nutrients and vitamins I need? What can I eat? What about my social life?
I hope to raise awareness of a cruelty free and healthier lifestyle that will help you lose weight, improve your health and make you feel fantastic. I am a mother of two and have recently become vegan. It has changed my life. Just read, you'll be surprised!

Saturday, 29 September 2007

Hello and thanks for the great response I am getting for the blog. It's really encouraging!

Miller now has his first tooth and is using it well! I'd been feeding him almost pureed food but have recently introduced rice cakes (supervised) and he just loves them. He was chomping on big pieces with no problem (please don't try this until your baby is ready!). So I thought maybe he'd like some more solid types of food so yesterday he had small chunks of banana and a mixture of carrot and broccoli cut into manageable chunks.

He is so different from my first born who would only eat pureed fruit until she was around 9 months. The mess however that Miller makes when eating is unrivaled. I have a child gate between my kitchen and hallway as our 2 Labradors just eat anything and lick the kids at every opportunity no matter where they've been or what they've been doing (dog owners will understand that I think!). So they are sectioned off at times and the dogs just lie looking through the bars like deprived prisoners, watching Miller throwing his food all over the place!

Anyway, back to the point, I thought it would be a good idea to post some solid facts on the blog and to make it interesting to those already vegan who know this stuff I've made them reasons why I made the change, the things that moved me into action. And to those who are still eating animals, maybe they will help you understand what is going on out there.

10 Things I didn't know before turning vegan...

1.Because of improper stunning, many pigs drown or are scalded to death when they are put, still alive, into the scalding-hot water tanks that are intended to soften their skins and remove their hair.

2. Like other animals fish feel pain and experience fear.

3. Eating meat causes global warming. Animal methane is 20 times more effective than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere.

4. Veal calves are confined to crates so small they can't even turn around and killed when they are just weeks old.

5. Female calves not raised as dairy cows are slaughtered for the enzyme rennet in their stomachs, used to make cheese.

6. Most chickens suffer from chronic respiratory diseases, weakened immune systems and bronchitis and more than 99 percent of chickens carcasses are contaminated with E.coli bacteria by the time they reach market.(According to a report from the USDA).

7. Research has proved that chickens are smarter than dogs, cats and some primates and pigs are smart too and are often intellectually compared to 3 year old children.

8. No species naturally drinks milk past weaning. A cow's calves are traumatically taken from her after birth so humans can drink the milk designed for them.

9. When taken from ocean depths, fish undergo excruciating decompression which often ruptures their swimbladder, pops out their eyes and pushes their stomachs through their mouths.

10.Animals rely on humans to make a change in their habits to stop their suffering. They cannot tell us to stop but all we need do is look at them to see what we are doing. Meat eating, drinking and eating animal secretions and treating animals as slaves to our desires, whether it be testing on them for cosmetics, wearing them for fashion or sitting on their skins is wrong. No question. It is wrong. And you know it.

It's worth a visit to the Peta site and they will send you a vegetarian starter kit if you want a kick start (full of info and great recipe ideas).

On another note, if you are a new mother, I have just released a tv program on blip.tv called 'Yoga Baby' - just the first episode there now with the second being uploaded later today - it's intended for new mums to practice yoga with their baby to get the relaxation they need whilst strengthening the body and the bond between mother and child.

Have a great weekend, why not see if you can make it better for the animals too.